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Pair bailed after security breach at RAF base

Aimee Dexter
Steve Hubbard/BBC A large brown sign, fixed to brick posts, reads RAF MOLESWORTH and is at the entrance to a military base.Steve Hubbard/BBC
A breach of a perimeter fence was identified at the base near Huntingdon

Two Latvian men arrested after a fence was breached at a Cambridgeshire RAF base have been bailed.

Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) security patrols at RAF Molesworth, which is used by the US military and Nato for intelligence operations, identified an abandoned vehicle at about 22:00 BST on Wednesday.

The pair, aged 36 and 32 and who live in the UK, were subsequently arrested inside the perimeter a few hours after searches found a small breach of the fence at the site.

Both were taken to a Cambridgeshire police station and have since been bailed with "strict conditions", the Metropolitan Police said.

The force's Counter Terrorism Policing London is investigating.

Its head Cdr Helen Flanagan said: "We're very aware of the recent heightened interest and concern around military sites, but there is nothing from our investigation so far to suggest this incident is connected to the events at RAF Fairford last week."

Both men were initially arrested on suspicion of trespass on a prohibited site and criminal damage - after Cambridgeshire Police officers joined the search - and were taken to a local station.

They were later arrested on suspicion of namely entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the UK under Section 4 of the National Security Act.

Steve Hubbard/BBC The entrance to an air base has open gates and barbed wire on the fencing. In the distance is a large building and more fencing.Steve Hubbard/BBC
The base is home to a Nato intelligence hub

The Met said officers carried out two searches at addresses in the Peterborough area and that the abandoned vehicle was also recovered by officers.

"A key line of inquiry remains to identify any potential motivation behind why the men were at that location, and this includes whether it may be connected to any criminal activity," Flanagan said.

"Meanwhile, I would encourage the public to remain vigilant and if you see anything of concern, then to contact police."

RAF Molesworth is located west of Huntingdon, close to the border with Northamptonshire.

It is home to the US's intelligence operations centres for Europe and Africa, as well as a Nato intelligence hub. It is not used as a flying station.

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